The Gist: Jim Leyland’s bet on Don Kelly paid immediate dividends as Kelly gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. Three batters in, Delmon Young gave Doug Fister a 2-0 cushion before he threw a pitch. Fister was terrific, as was Max Scherzer who gave the Tigers 1-1/3 innings of relief. Victor Martinez gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead when he drove in Austin Jackson in the sixth. Joaquin Benoit got five huge outs, walked in a run and withstood some head games played by Joe Girardi. Jose Valverde threw a Mariano Rivera-type ninth inning, setting down Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriquez in order for his 51st save of the year.

The Quote: “He’s the 25th guy on the team, I guess, but I wouldn’t rather have another 25th guy.” – Leyland on Kelly

The Stat: 3 – Delmon Young‘s home run total for the series, the most ever by a Tigers player in a single postseason series.

The Stat II: 13 – The number of strikeouts by Tigers hitters in Game 5

Up Next: American League Championship Series

Saturday: Tigers @ Rangers in Arlington | Start Time TBD | On the air: Fox/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Justin Verlander vs. C.J. Wilson

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The Gist: Justin Verlander struck out 12 over eight remarkable innings and Ramon Santiago, Brandon Inge and Don Kelly delivered key hits to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead. Delmon Young crushed the first pitch he saw from Yankees reliever Rafael Soriano and gave the Tigers a 5-4 win. One more win and the Tigers clinch a spot in the American League Championship Series.

The Quote: “I’ve worked my tail off since [2006], and I feel like every year I’ve been ready for this. And this is why I work so hard. There’s no point in holding anything back now.” – Verlander

The Stat: 12 – The number of Jose Valverde’s 19 pitches that were called balls.

Up Next:

Tuesday: Tigers vs. Yankees @ Comerica Park | 8:37 p.m. ET | On the air: TBS/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.75 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (11-11, 5.15 ERA)

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The Gist: Miguel Cabrera got to Freddy Garcia early, crushing any potential mind games the Yankees’ starter could potentially play on the Tigers, lining a two-run homer down the rightfield corner. Cabrera finished with three hits and RBI. Victor Martinez and Don Kelly drove in the other two runs to give a cushion that wasn’t needed until the bottom of the ninth. The bulk of the day belonged to Max Scherzer who was brilliant, no-hitting the Yankees for six innings. I won’t go into Jose Valverde‘s appearance. If you were lucky enough to miss it, just know it was an inning fraught with panic and despair.

The Quote: “It’s going to be electric.” – Justin Verlander on the environment Monday night at Comerica Park for Game 3.

The Stat: 1 – The number of stolen bases by Cabrera, the only one in the game by either team.

Up Next:

Monday: Tigers vs. Yankees @ Comerica Park | 8:37 p.m. ET | On the air: TBS/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (19-8 3.00 ERA)

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AP

Wade Fink was in the Tigers locker room following another heartbreaking loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Enjoy postgame audio from Manager Jim Leyland and players.

Below are audio clips from the clubhouse. Click on the various clips below:

Leyland on Game

Leyland says the team is trying..

Leyland on the rookies

Austin Jackson on Clay Bucholz

Austin Jackson on moving forward..

Will Rhymes on Fenway

Will Rhymes on Clay Bucholz

Will Rhymes says Tigers are a good team…

Alex Avila on Justin Verlander’s night

Thanks for staying with me all weekend. Be back in Detroit tomorrow. Wake up with Sean Baligian on 1130AM Detroit Sports Talk and I’ll talk to you guys soon here on The Daily Fungo.

Below are the reactions from the Tigers clubhouse. Terrible game, folks. You’re not supposed to lose those ones. We’ll talk further later, but for now click the individual links for sound.

Jim Leyland 1

Jim Leyland 2

Jim Leyland 3

Jim Leyland 4

Don Kelly 1

Don Kelly 2

Austin Jackon 1

Austin Jackson 2

Max Scherzer

Phil Coke

Wade Fink was in the locker room following the Tigers disappointing loss to the Cleveland Indians Sunday afternoon. Manager Jim Leyland and his players sounded off about the series.

Click on the clips below for audio:

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland

Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon

Andy Oliver

AP

With another chance to seize first place in the Central, the Tigers bats went cold again as they lost to the Braves 3-1 at Turner Field tonight.

Billy Wagner saved his 400th game, becoming the fifth all-time to reach such a mark.

Another promising first inning ended relatively harmlessly for the Tigers. Five straight bullets from Ramon Santiago, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Brennan Boesch and Carlos Guillen resulted in just one run. After that, the Tigers scattered just three hits, failing to put together a comprehensive threat.

Johnny Damon’s woes continued, as he is now just 3 for his last 30. No Tiger hitter was particularly impressive, although Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a couple singles.

Who was impressive, on the other hand, was Tigers’ rookie Andy Oliver. In his first big league start, Oliver went six innings, scattering five hits and allowing just two earned with four punchouts. Oliver appeared to have a crisp fastball and decent command of his secondary pitches. If he can turn in more starts like this one, perhaps the Tigers become players in the Cliff Lee lottery, as other arms will become expendible.

The Braves picked up their third run in the eighth inning off the bat of pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad, who hit his fourth homer of the season off Eddie Bonine.

Yet another dud from the Tigers offense was the story tonight, friends, coming at a time when the Twins are reeling and the White Sox are surging.

Twins, and now, Sox Watch:

The Twins lost their fourth straight game today at Citi Field in New York, but remain in first place, .5 games ahead of the Tigers, and 1.5 ahead of the White Sox.

The White Sox won their 10th straight tonight, defeating their cross-town rival Cubbies today.

Note

Former Tiger starter Edwin Jackson tossed a no-hitter tonight on a whopping 149 pitches.  Jackson walked 8 Tampa Bay Rays in the effort.

AP

Despite going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, the Tigers took advantage of walks and avoided a sweep, defeating the New York Mets 6-5 tonight.

Armando Galarraga won his first start since his (im)perfect game, throwing six strong innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs. Most of the Mets runs can be attributed to bloop and seeing-eye singles.  Galarraga did not allow a hit until the fourth inning when a soft line drive fooled Brennan Boesch and sailed over his head.

The Tigers were able to build a 6-1 lead off homers from Magglio Ordonez and Ryan Raburn. They chased Mets starter Hisanori Takahashi in the fifth inning after he loaded the bases with no outs.  Reliever Elmer Dessens promptly walked the next hitter, Brandon Inge, which forced home a run.

Brennan Boesch went 3-for-4 with a sharp double.  He raised his average to .346 on the year.

Mets pitching surrendered seven walks, three of which turned directly into runs.

Four Tigers relievers totaled three innings, allowing five hits and just one earned run, which was a nice recovery for a bullpen that has struggled of late.

Once again, Jose Valverde pitched a smooth ninth for his 17th save of the year.

Twins Watch

The Minnesota Twins were swept this weekend in Milwaukee, losing today by a final of 5-0. The Tigers are now just .5 games back of the first-place Twins.  However, the Chicago White Sox, winners of nine straight, are breathing down their necks.

Next Up

Detroit will head to Atlanta to face the Braves who are 24-7 at home. Andrew Oliver, the highly touted prospect, will make his first start for the Tigers. The Braves will throw Kris Medlen.

AP

The Detroit Tigers turned in another dud of a performance tonight, falling to the New York Mets 5-0 at Citi Field tonight.

The Mets veteran right-hander R.A. Dickey won his sixth start (6-0) in seven tries, throwing eight scoreless innings, allowing just four hits.  Dickey retired the final 13 batters he faced.

Jeremy Bonderman pitched another strong game, perhaps becoming the most consistent starter.  Bondo allowed just two earned runs before departing, but was on the hook for two more when he was relieved by Joel Zumaya and Phil Coke. His final line: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

The Tigers had an opportunity in the first inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. Carlos Guillen ended the threat when he grounded out harmlessly to second.

After the first, the Tigers failed to get anything going offensively against a seemingly pedestrian Dickey knuckleball. They are not the only ones to struggle against Dickey, however, as he lowered his ERA to 2.33.

After retiring the first two hitters in the third inning, Bonderman had an 0-2 count on Jose Reyes, but left a ball out over the plate and Reyes singled. Those who know Reyes’ game will tell you that a single is almost always an automatic double, and he successfully stole second on a 1-0 pitch, even with Jim Leyland calling a pitch out.  After a walk to Angel Pagan, David Wright slapped a double to left, scoring Reyes.

A Reyes solo jack in the fifth would be the only scoring until the seventh inning. The first two hitters reached base before Bondo was promptly relieved by Zumaya. Following a wild pitch to pitch to Dickey, which allowed the runners to advance, Zumaya walked the Mets’ pitcher on four pitches.  Jesus Feliciano grounded into a fielder’s choice, which scored one run, but the deadly blow come off the bat of Ike Davis, driving an 0-2 Phil Coke slurve into right for 2 RBI.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched an uneventful ninth to finish off Detroit.

Next Up:

The Tigers will try to avoid a sweep tomorrow night.  Armando Galarraga (2-1, 3.32 ERA) takes the hill and will face Hisanori Takahashi (6-2, 3.13 ERA).

AP

Late inning home runs from Brennan Boesch and Carlos Guillen propelled the Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Father’s Sunday.  The win improved the Tigers to 8-1 on the homestand, as they prepare to head east on Tuesday.

After laboring through the first five innings, Max Scherzer was able to buckle down and turn in a gem on the mound.  He allowed a first inning run, but that was it.  Scherzer’s line was 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 8 Ks.  The line is a little deceiving, as Scherzer’s pitch count was at 50 in the second inning.  He slowed the pace to a crawl in the 5th, often times struggling to put hitters away despite being ahead 0-2 frequently.

Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy had himself a day as well.  From the end of the second through the sixth inning, Kennedy retired 13 straight Tigers.  But in the seventh, Miguel Cabrera singled sharply to right only to be followed by a Boesch Bomb near the Pepsi Porch in right.  With the Tigers leading 2-1, Guillen followed Boesch with a solo jack of his own for insurance purposes.

Joel Zumaya pitched yet another clean 8th inning, striking out one and inducing two flyouts.

Zumaya was followed by the reliable Papa Grande Jose Valverde, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save and the Tigers 38th victory.

Notes:

Sophomore Rick Porcello was sent to Triple-A Toledo today.  The Tigers won’t need a fifth starter until June 29th, but two possibilites include Eddie Bonine and Enrique Gonzalez…A day after it was reported in the Arizona Republic that Miguel Montero didn’t like Jose Valverde’s antics, the two faced off in the ninth inning this afternoon.  Montero grounded out weakly to first base, and the at-bat ended wtihout incident.

Twins Watch:

The Minnesota Twins defeated Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen’s Bank Park 4-1 today. The Tigers remain 1.5 games behind the Twins for first place in the AL Central.

Next Up:

The Tigers will rest tomorrow and head to Long Island on Tuesday to face the second place New York Mets.  Scheduled starters are Jonathan Niese and Justin Verlander.

AP

The Tigers went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position, and fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 tonight at Comerica.

The loss ended the Tigers’ season high 7-game win streak, and snapped a 14-game road losing streak for the D’Backs.  The last road win for Arizona came on May 17th in Florida.

In his return to Detroit, former Tiger Edwin Jackson was strong, pitching into the eighth inning.  Jackson allowed three earned on nine hits and four strikeouts.  He was very effective at mixing his pitches, throwing far less fastballs than we had grown accostumed to in the Motor City.

Although the Tigers did manage to score five times tonight, two of which can be attributed directly to errors, they were unable to find hits with runners on base.  There’s no where to place blame either, as all nine hitters in the lineup contributed to the 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

One bright spot was Tiger catcher Alex Avila, who went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.  The RBI came on singles in the second and sixth innings.

Rick Porcello struggled again this evening, as he threw just 5.1 innings, allowing four earned runs, two of which came from the long ball.  Porcello missed his previous start to work on mechanics, however, the rest period did not prove productive.  Porcello left his fastball over the hard of the plate often, and his slider was basically non-existent.

Following a Magglio Ordonez two-out RBI double, Miguel Cabrera was the last hope for the Tigers to tie the ball game in the ninth.  Cabrera struck out on a Aaron Heilman changeup to end the game.

Twins Watch:

In the miracle game of the evening, the Twins came back from 8-3 and 9-4 deficits to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 13-10 in 11 innings. Joe Mauer capped a five run ninth inning with a 2-run jack to right-center.  The Tigers are now 1.5 games behind the Twinkies.

Next Up:

The Tigers will wrap up the series and homestand tomorrow afternoon at Comerica.  Scheduled to start are Ian Kennedy for Arizona and Max Scherzer for Detroit.  First pitch 1:05p.m.

Happy Father’s Day, Dads!

AP

Brandon Inge hit an RBI triple to the deepest part of Comerica Park in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night, lifting the Tigers to a 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

The Tigers extended both their win streak to seven, and the Diamondbacks road losing streak to 14.

After spoiling both 4-0 and 5-4 leads, the Tigers were able to rally when Brennan Boesch coaxed a one out walk in the eighth.  Carlos Guillen followed with a groundout, but Inge and  Alex Avila came up with two timely two out hits to give the Tigers the lead for good.

Dontrelle Willis was unimpressive in his return to Comerica, surrending five earned runs on 5 hits and four walks in five innings of work.

Armando Galarraga was equally unimpressive, throwing just 4.1 innings, giving up four earned on seven hits.  Galarraga had trouble locating his fastball, often times having his signature two-seamer soaring over the center of the plate.

Eddie Bonine was extra sharp in his second appearance in two nights.  He seems to be solidifying himself more and more as a true knuckleballer.  Bonine went two innings, surrendering only one hit and no runs.  He was relived by Phil Coke, who got two outs in the eighth and earned his fifth victory.

Jose Valverde came in and threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save.

Note:

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera left in the fourth inning after he said he felt dizzy.

Twins Watch:

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Philadelphia Phillies tonight, 9-5. The Tigers are now .5 games behind the Twins for first place in the American League Central.

Next Up:

The D’Backs and Tigers face off again tomorrow night at Comerica.  The pitching matchup will feature former Tiger starter Edwin Jackson (3-6, 5.18 ERA) for Arizona, and Rick Porcello (4-6, 6.09 ERA) for Detroit.

The victory caps a second straight series sweep, and overall 6-game win streak, a stretch in which the Tigers have scored 37 runs on a whopping 70 hits.  It’s a pleasant sight for Tigers fans, who had recently endured a stretch where the cats had lost 12 of 18 with the main culprit being a stagnant offense.

Miguel Cabrera extended his league-leading RBI total to 59, going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI.  Alex Avila went 2-for-4 with a long double in the 2nd inning, driving in two runs.

Not to be lost in the offensive onslaught is Jeremy Bonderman, who allowed just two earned on five hits while fanning seven in seven innings of work.

Bonderman appeared to be pedestrian early, as five of the first six batters hit long, powerful flyouts.  Bondo was leaving the ball up in the zone.  He survived and adjusted, two things he has done well all season long.  He went on to strike out four straight before giving up his first hit of the ball game in the 4th inning.

The Tigers broke the game open in the 5th inning, scoring three times, twice on Cabrera’s double and once on an RBI single from Carlos Guillen.

Fu-Te Ni saw his first action since June 9th as he relieved Bonderman in the 8th inning. Ni allowed singles to the first two batters he faced, before retiring the third on a fielder’s choice.  Jim Leyland then summoned Joel Zumaya from the pen, who allowed an RBI single before retiring the side.

The Tigers stretched the lead to 8-3 on a Magglio Ordonez RBI single in the 8th before Eddie Bonine closed the door in an easy 9th.

Twins watch:

The Twins lost 5-1 at home today, as the Colorado Rockies avoided a sweep.  Ubaldo Jimenez went to 13-1 on the year, lowering his ERA to 1.15.

The Tigers are now just 1.5 games behind the Twins for first place in the AL Central.

Next:

The Arizona Diamondbacks come to town tomorrow for a Father’s Day weekend series.

Dontrelle Willis returns to Comerica tomorrow in a start for the D’Backs.  He’ll face counterpart Rick Porcello, who is returning to the rotation after missing a start to work on his mechanics.

Mariners 5 – Tigers 2

“A few balls go a little bit different, and the game goes another way.” — Brandon Inge

• W: Justin Verlander (5-2)
• L: Dallas Braden (4-4)
• HR: Brandon Inge (4)

The way Justin Verlander was throwing the ball on Wednesday night it’s amazing that he finished with just five strikeouts.

In the Tigers’ 5-1 win over the A’s, the ace mowed down the A’s with startling efficiency, averaging just 13 pitches per inning and throwing first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 30 hitters he faced. What’s more, he was touching 98 m.p.h. in the ninth inning. The heat, of course, sets the table for Verlander:

“The biggest key for me is controlling my fastball and I was able to do that tonight to both sides of the plate,” Verlander said. “That’s where it starts and ends for me. If I’m able to do that usually I’m going to have a pretty good game.”

Brandon Inge, who pried open a scoreless game with a homer in the seventh off Dallas Braden, and rookies Danny Worth (3 for 3), Austin Jackson and Casper Wells (2 each) paced the offense.

But the story of the night was Verlander. Here’s hoping Jeremy Bonderman can be half as good on this afternoon.

The Gist: I think it’s safe to say that Justin Verlander (3-3) is back for good and that Tigers fans will need to prepare for slow starts in years to come. The Tigers thumped CC Sabathia for nine hits and six earned runs in as many innings and the Tigers shutout the Yankees for the second time in three games — and took three of four in the series.

Miguel Cabrera (8) and Brennan Boesch (3) hit back-to-back homers off Sabathia in the fourth. But back to Verlander. He kept the Tigers’ bullpen to limited duty by pitching into the seventh. Along the way he scattered four hits, walked four and struck out four.

The Quote: “Cabrera’s a great hitter, and he hurt us today.” — Yankees manager Joe Girardi

The Stat: .194 — The combined average of the Tigers’ seven, eight and nine hitters in today’s lineup.

Up Next:

Friday: Tigers vs. Red Sox @ Comerica Park | 7:05 p.m. ET | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 & 97.1 FM

Max Scherzer (1-3, 6.81) vs. RHP Clay Buchholz (3-3, 3.82 ERA)

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The Gist: It’s real simple: Phil Hughes. The Tigers couldn’t cash-in on the one opportunity they had to get on the board and Hughes rolled. He struck out eight in seven innings. Meanwhile, Jeremy Bonderman was solid for seven innings himself — by far his best outing in more than two years. The Tigers played well until the top of the ninth when the bullpen cratered.

The Quote: “Hey, that guy was good.” — Jim Leyland on Hughes

The Stat: 50+ — The number of pitches Tigers pitchers threw in the dreadful ninth inning.

Up Next:

Today: Tigers vs. Yankees @ Comerica Park | 1:05 p.m. ET | On the air: MLB Network and FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.05 ERA)

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The Gist: Rick Porcello had the Yankees beating the ball into the ground — to the tune of 14 groundouts in seven innings — and at last looked masterful. Brennan Boesch drove in a run and stole a home run off the bat of Alex Rodriguez in the third. Javier Vazquez held the Tigers to just five hits and struck out seven in as many innings and took the tough-luck loss.

The Quote: “It was perfect for us.” — Jim Leyland on Porcello’s bullpen-saving performance.

The Stat: 49 — The game-time temperature. Which doesn’t bode well for fans attending the nightcap.

The Stat II: 27,376 — The announced attendance which, if you saw the game on TV, is a joke. I think there were more people in the press box.

Up Next: Tonight: Tigers vs. Yankees @ Comerica Park | 7:05 p.m. ET | On the air: ESPN and FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Jeremy Bonderman (1-1, 5.74 ERA) vs. RHP Phil Hughes (4-0, 1.69 ERA)

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The Score: Tigers 6 – Indians 4

The Gist: Justin Verlander delivered his third consecutive stellar outing and Scott Sizemore (3 RBI) and Miguel Cabrera (2 RBI) paced the offense on a raw day in Cleveland. Joel Zumaya was terrific again throwing 21 of his 28 pitches for strikes and racking up five strikeouts in two innings.

The Quote: “It was a good win on a miserable day.” — Jim Leyland

The Stat: 15 — The number of Indians strikeouts by a trio of Tigers pitchers: Verlander, 9; Zumaya, 5; Jose Valverde, 1.

Up Next: Sunday — Tigers @ Indians | Progressive Field | 1:05 p.m. ET

Max Scherzer (1-2, 6.47 ERA) vs. Mitch Talbot (3-2, 2.28 ERA)

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The Score: Twins 4 – Tigers 3

The Gist: Dontrelle Willis pitched well enough to win and Brennan Boesch hit a game-tying ninth-inning homer that might still be traveling, but Ryan Perry‘s wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth handed the Twins the game and the series. Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera each had a pair of hits and an RBI.

The Quote: “They hit me in the mouth early and they came out swinging. I was able to just weather the storm, and I swung back.” — Willis

The Stat: 137 — The number of career RBI Jim Thome has against the Tigers, including one on Tuesday night.

Up Next:

Wednesday: Tigers @ Twins | Target Field | 1:10 p.m. ET | On the air: FSD/1270 AM & 97.1 FM

Rick Porcello (2-2, 8.03) vs. Kevin Slowey (3-2, 3.77)

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